A Call To Dade May Get Cheaper

TALLAHASSEE -- Cheaper phone service between Broward and Dade counties could be in the wind, another legacy of Hurricane Andrew.

The Public Service Commission on Tuesday is expected to order a study of calling patterns from the Fort Lauderdale area to Miami that could bolster efforts to cut these charges in half.

``I`ve found it was cheaper to call my father in Philadelphia than to call Dade County the number of times I do,`` said Miriam Comer of Weston, who led a letter-writing campaign for 2 1/2 years demanding cheaper phone rates.

``You can`t just reach out and touch someone,`` Comer added. ``It`s hard to keep up a relationship with your former neighbors when you have to keep an eye on an egg timer.``

Broward County commissioners and residents have asked state regulators to consider setting a 25-cents-per-call rate for some Broward residents currently paying long-distance charges to Dade. Residents and businesses south of Cypress Creek Road are being considered for the per-call plan, which analysts say could cut local long-distance charges by 50 percent.

Currently, Fort Lauderdale-area residents pay 19-cents-a-minute to call Miami. Average calls run about three minutes, analysts say -- more than double the cost of a 25-cent call.

Comer, like many south Broward residents, moved north from Dade County. She left friends, family members and business interests in the Miami area.

Hurricane Andrew`s devastating effect on parts of Dade County has forced even more migration since last August. Regulatory analysts and residents say the 30-day study likely to be ordered next week should show a dramatic increase in calling from Broward to Dade. The study is proposed to take place this summer. Work on a new calling plan could begin by fall.

Last year, the PSC postponed action saying the proposal should be part of a massive rate hearing for Southern Bell, which serves 3.7 million customers mostly in South Florida.

But with the rate case delayed until next year, analysts say now is the time to review the Broward-Dade plan.

The proposal, though, is not without controversy. State analysts said last year the 25-cent plan could cost Southern Bell about $6.5 million per year, despite an anticipated flood of new business drawn by cheaper rates.

The flat-rate plan would turn calls from the Fort Lauderdale-area to Miami and North Dade from a per-minute charge to a 25-cent call.

Calls from the Hollywood area to North Dade would keep their current no extra charge, but residents could also call Miami for 25 cents rather than pay per-minute costs.

Southern Bell already offers a $6.80-per-month additional calling plan for North Dade customers calling Fort Lauderdale. But no such plan is offered in the opposite direction, frustrating some customers.